


Venomous

by Tarlan



Series: Venomous [1]
Category: Boa vs. Python (2004), Thoughtcrimes (2003)
Genre: Drama, Hewligan, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-08-10
Updated: 2008-08-10
Packaged: 2017-10-20 17:45:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/215410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Monica drops by unexpectedly and leaves just as quickly, leaving Emmett face-to-face with someone new.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Venomous

**Author's Note:**

> Written for LJ smallfandomflsh #8 Blanket, and using a left over LJ smallfandomfest prompt. _Monica drops by unexpectedly_  
>  Also meets LJ hewligan_100 #23. Lovers.

He'd always known where he stood with snakes. They had such simple needs and usually were very direct in fulfilling those needs. If they were hungry, they hunted, if they were cold then they coiled up during the night to retain heat or basked on a hot rock to soak up the warmth of the sun during the day, and if they felt threatened then they attacked.

People were...complicated.

Admittedly, most of the same rules applied on an animalistic level - hot, cold, hungry, sated, afraid or annoyed - but people had far more shades of gray in their behavior. They didn't always say what they wanted, just assumed that he would know from their coy glances or angry stares; assumed he could read their body language in the same way that he read Betty's. Sometimes hungry wasn't for food, and sated wasn't necessarily the aftermath of great sex. With Monica, her hunger often stemmed from wanting someone on which she could take out all her frustrations with her research and her inability to get a particular grant. Her hunger was for seeing him feeling guilty for gaining financial support when she'd been refused, and sated was when she saw him hurting from her verbal attacks on his research, on his life's work as wasteful.

The Monica he had first met outside the Longreen Reserve had seemed sweet and courageous but a year down the line, he'd become a victim of her venomous strike one too many times and he knew of only one antidote for that type of venom - not getting bitten in the first place. More of a prevention than a cure, in truth, but difficult to implement when Monica had the habit of dropping by unexpectedly and simply assuming that he would put aside all his research just to entertain her. Problem was, he had another meeting in two days with the people holding his grant money, and he needed to prepare his defense of that grant, otherwise some other 'worthwhile' project would gain the grant instead.

He watched as she slammed her few possessions into a case before straightening, her body held rigid with anger.

"You're pathetic, Emmett. You and your snakes, and what you laughingly call research." She sneered. "Call me when you want to put away the toys and play in the big world."

She slammed the door behind her, making him wince, and he gave a huge sigh in relief when he heard her accelerate away at speed only a few minutes later. He knew he should have done this months ago, but that was the problem with long distance relationships. It was easy to keep putting things off.

Emmett fell back on his large bed and spread his arms against the softness of the blankets, head falling back to enjoy the lifting of a large and complex gray cloud from over him.

"Excuse me, Dr. Emmett?"

He scrabbled quickly against the blankets, jumping to his feet and staring with wide eyes filled with embarrassment and fear at the man standing in the doorway to his bedroom. "Who the...? What the...?"

The flushed man indicated over his shoulder. "She told me to go right on up."

Emmett clenched his jaw and offered a tight smile. "Right. Monica."

"I can come back in..." The man glanced at his wristwatch and frowned.

"No." Emmett took a deep breath. "No, it's...fine. Perhaps we can talk downstairs though? But if you want to play with my snake then the answer's no."

The man, who was obviously an agent for some three-letter abbreviation government department flushed with fresh embarrassment and then he gave a half, self-deprecating laugh. "Oh! Snakes. Sure." He pointed behind him. "Going downstairs."

Emmett frowned in confusion as the man turned away, replaying his words in his head and felt a similar heat of embarrassment because the one thing he'd always tried to avoid was playing with double entendres. Damn! He hoped the man realized he hadn't been propositioning him, or not as the case might be. Except, watching the man walk down the stairs ahead of him, Emmett had to admit that he wouldn't have minded propositioning a good looking guy like this one. Again with the exceptions though, for the man was either FBI or CIA.

The man stepped back and allowed Emmett to pass, letting Emmett lead the way into his reception area, such as it was. He had Geri, a young kid from the local college, looking after the reception on Saturdays and a couple of evenings each week but, otherwise he manned it himself.

"So?" Emmett stated meaningfully, and the man drew himself up in that professional _at ease in any situation_ way that he'd seen before.

"Agent Brendan Dean, NSA."

"NSA?"

"National Security--"

Emmett waved a hand. "Yeah, I know what it stands for...it's just I don't tend to get you guys knocking on my door."

"Guess you usually get the Feds or spooks."

Emmett relaxed a fraction. He liked Brendan Dean, and not just for his looks. He could sense there was more than just a spark of intelligence beneath the shock of dark, messy hair, and a good sense of humor too. However, good looking agents didn't tend to come to his doorstep just to date him, and so it had to be reptile related.

"So what do you need from me?"

"We need you to identify a snake used in an attack on a US research base."

Emmett gave a noncommittal response. "Photos?"

"It's not that simple, or I could have gotten someone to Google for an ID. This one's not so intact."

"How bad?"

"Just a few scales really."

"Scales." Emmett sighed. "I gather you have the scales with you?"

Dean pulled out a sealed bag and opened it, only to pull out an even smaller sealed bag from within. This one was transparent and Emmett could see the small scales inside. He took the bag off of Dean and examined it closer.

"To help narrow things down, where was it found?"

"That's not going to help much." Emmett glanced up, curious for an explanation, and Dean supplied it. "Antarctica."

Emmett raised both eyebrows but could see Dean had nothing more to say on the origin of the specimen. "Okay. Well, give me a few hours to study this and--"

"Dinner?"

Emmett blinked in confusion for it was already late in the afternoon and by a few hours, he meant more than two. "I guess I could have a partial answer by then."

"I meant, I'm not heading back until tomorrow so let me take you to dinner later and we can discuss what you've found so far."

He couldn't help the way his eyes flicked down the strong body in appreciation before snapping back up to the handsome face, expecting to see anger but finding interest hiding behind a knowing, smirk. Dean licked his lips and Emmett knew that look from a dozen different encounters in his life. He knew the interest was for more than the name of a particular species of snake, and that Dean was flirting with him. It occurred to Emmett that he'd only just freed himself from one relationship so plunging headlong into another was probably asking for trouble, except this didn't have to be a relationship. This was just the offer of a one night stand with no strings attached as Dean would head out in the morning and their paths might never cross again.

"There's a small restaurant about a block away that has a decent menu... or we could order in."

This time there was no mistaking the interest as Dean's eyes swept over his body, lingering in all the right places, and his next words confirmed his lascivious intentions. "I haven't booked a hotel yet. Do I need to?"

Emmett smiled and turned away, intending to take the snake specimen towards his main laboratory where he had all the necessary equipment set up to study it. He cast a glance over his shoulder to where Dean waited as if rooted to the spot while waiting for an answer, smiling before crossing the threshold. "No." His smile grew as Dean - or should he call him Brendan if they were about to fall into bed together? - quickly fell in step just behind him.

****

Brendan called in the food order, citing that the NSA would be paying anyway, and that suited Emmett just fine as no one had mentioned any financial payment for the hours he'd spent working on identifying the snake remains. By the time the food arrived, Emmett had narrowed down the species to one of the Australian varieties, which seemed more than reasonable if the snake had been found in Antarctica. Probably, it had been transported into McMurdo from Australia during a supply run for, certainly, it wouldn't be the first time a snake had hitched a ride coiled up in the warm engine compartment of a vehicle such as a car or, in this case, probably a plane. He mentioned that to Brendan, who seemed to accept Emmett's theory as a possibility even though Emmett knew Brendan hadn't told him the entire story concerning this snake and why it was now in such small pieces.

"It should only take another hour or two and I'll have it fully classified," Emmett stated as he picked up the chopsticks and one of the take-out cartons.

"But that can wait until morning, right?"

Emmett paused with the chopsticks halfway to his mouth, catching the way Brendan was watching him with renewed interest, the gleam in his eye holding promises for the night ahead.

"Won't your boss be waiting for the information?"

Brendan gave a shrug. "I contacted him and told him what you'd found so far. As far as he's concerned, that's enough to work from for now." Emmett raised both eyebrows at the shy smile Brendan offered. "I can think of a better way to end the evening."

It didn't take much of a stretch to lean across the small gap between them and offer the food on his chopsticks to Brendan, licking his own lips as Brendan took the offered food in a way that would have been laughable if it hadn't been so hot. The chopsticks dropped to the tabletop with an unnoticed clatter as Emmett reached for Brendan this time, fingers entwining in the soft strands of spiky hair as he drew Brendan in for their first kiss. Firm lips softened and melted beneath his, the sensuous lick of a tongue sending flickers of desire racing southwards and Emmett parted his lips and let Brendan in, moaning softly into the kiss.

Emmett pulled back, wondering if he looked as wracked as Brendan after just one kiss. He hadn't believed Brendan's hair could get any messier or his eyes any brighter but figured he had to be doing something right to get Brendan looking that way. Brendan gave a small frustrated sound when Emmett forced a carton of Chinese back into his hand.

"Eat first, sex later," he stated simply, and laughed when Brendan began shoveling the noodles and chicken into his mouth. Emmett ate his Chinese with a lot more decorum, savoring the tingle of spices against his tongue and lips, while reveling in the eagerness of his soon-to-be lover. It felt so good to be wanted, something that had been missing from his relationship with Monica. With Monica, he'd always felt like she was using him, and that any male body would have done for her. In truth, he knew he hadn't been her only partner, and that she had regularly taken home men from the marina after playing 'lung capacity' games with them underwater. Until now, he hadn't realized how much he had minded even though he'd been the first to agree that exclusivity wasn't so great for a long distance relationship; not that he had taken that option for himself.

Brendan dropped his finished carton on the tabletop and reeled Emmett in for another kiss, this time with far greater passion and need, yet Emmett felt no fear, instinctively knowing that all he had to do was give Brendan a slight push and the man would back off.

"You're so hot," Brendan murmured into Emmett's mouth while his hands skimmed beneath Emmett's t-shirt, seemingly wanting to touch every inch of his skin, even dipping beneath the waistband of his pants. With a guttural moan, Brendan pulled away and stood up, face flushed with desire and eyes heavy with need. He stretched out a hand to Emmett.

The rest of the food was forgotten as Emmett took the offered hand. "Let's take this upstairs."

Making love to Brendan was exhilarating. Every inch of his body was caressed or licked or kissed, every curve of muscle and bone was worshiped, and Emmett gasped as he was maneuvered onto his stomach and a slick tongue delved between his asscheeks, sliding over that sensitive muscle before opening him with lube-slicked fingers.

God, how he had missed this; the burn of the stretch, the fullness as another man's cock sank deep inside him, unerringly finding that hidden spot over and over as a hand wrapped around his own cock and jacked him slowly in time with each strong thrust. He could hear himself begging for more, for harder and faster, his voice almost unrecognizable, rough with desire. When he came, he lost all coherent thought, mind numbed with pleasure as Brendan cried out in his own release.

Brendan collapsed across Emmett's back, cock still buried deep inside but softening rapidly, and with a reluctant moan, Brendan eased back, carefully holding onto the condom as he pulled out. Emmett didn't feel inclined to turn his head and watch Brendan dispose of the used condom, but he did look over eventually when he felt Brendan push up from the bed, truly seeing Brendan naked for the first time. The beautiful body walking into Emmett's bathroom was hairier than Emmett normally liked in a partner and yet, now that he was more fully aware, he recalled the amazing feel of those silken curls against his back and the slightly coarser leg hairs against the back of his thighs.

Brendan returned with a washcloth and Emmett was amazed once more by the care Brendan took in cleaning away the lube and rapidly drying semen. He had a good aim too, managing to throw the soiled washcloth into the adjoining bathroom before settling back onto the bed.

Some men didn't like cuddling up after sex, preferring to put some space between their bodies once it was all over but Brendan pulled Emmett into his arms, drawing up the blankets over them. Emmett fell asleep with the fleeting sensation of soft kisses pressed against his hair.

When morning came he awoke alone and only the untidiness of the blankets, pushed back on one side, told him it hadn't been just a wonderful fantasy. Monica used to be the same, sometimes not even waking him up to say goodbye when she headed back to Florida.

Just as he resigned himself to getting up alone, the door opened, revealing Brendan in Emmett's ragged old blue bath robe with a tray balanced in his hands holding coffee and toast. Brendan set the tray down and looked a little chagrined.

"You seemed dead to the world wrapped up in the blankets so I didn't expect you to wake up so soon." He seemed genuinely embarrassed at having not been there when Emmett awoke. Emmett blinked in confusion.

"You made me breakfast,"

Brendan grinned, the same lascivious grin that he'd shown to Emmett yesterday; a grin that contained none of the venom that he'd come to anticipate from Monica.

"Well, they decided they didn't need any more info on that snake, and as it's now Friday and I don't have to go back until after the weekend, I figured..." He shrugged, "A leisurely breakfast," and sat down on the bed, one hand drifting beneath the blanket to caress Emmett's shoulder, "And then we can spend the rest of the weekend under the blankets."

"You have any particular activities in mind," Emmett asked seductively, and shivered when Brendan's hand slid down his chest to rub over a nipple.

"Oh yeah," Brendan breathed softly, and several months later, Emmett had to agree that long distance relationships could work after all.

END


End file.
